thorn
English


Etymology
From Middle English thorn, þorn, from Old English þorn, þyrn (“thorn”), from Proto-Germanic *þurnuz, from Proto-Indo-European *tr̥nós, from *(s)ter- (“stiff”). Near cognates include West Frisian toarn, Low German Doorn, Dutch doorn, German Dorn, Danish and Norwegian torn, Swedish torn, törne, Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽𐌿𐍃 (þaurnus). Further cognates include Old Church Slavonic трънъ (trŭnŭ, “thorn”), Russian тёрн (tjorn), Polish cierń, Sanskrit तृण (tṛ́ṇa, “grass”).
Pronunciation
Noun
thorn (plural thorns)
- (botany) A sharp protective spine of a plant.
- Any shrub or small tree that bears thorns, especially a hawthorn.
- the white thorn
- the cockspur thorn
- (figuratively) That which pricks or annoys; anything troublesome.
- Bible, 2 Corinthians xii. 7
- There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me.
- South
- The guilt of empire, all its thorns and cares, / Be only mine.
- Bible, 2 Corinthians xii. 7
- A letter of Latin script (capital: Þ, small: þ), borrowed by Old English from the futhark to represent a dental fricative, then not distinguished from eth, but in modern use (in Icelandic and other languages, but no longer in English) used only for the voiceless dental fricative found in English thigh
- See also Etymology of ye (definite article).
Derived terms
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Verb
thorn (third-person singular simple present thorns, present participle thorning, simple past and past participle thorned)
- To pierce with, or as if with, a thorn
- 1869, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Old Town Folks:
- […] human nature is, above all things, lazy, and needs to be thorned and goaded up those heights where it ought to fly.
- 2003, Scott D. Zachary, Scorn This, page 175:
- Even Judge Bradley's callused sentiments were thorned by the narration of Jaclyn's journals.
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Translations
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Further reading
thorn on Wikipedia.Wikipedia Thorns, spines, and prickles on Wikipedia.Wikipedia Thorn (letter) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Middle English
Etymology
Inherited from Old English þorn, from Proto-Germanic *þurnuz, from Proto-Indo-European *tr̥nós.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /θɔrn/, /θrɔn/
Noun
thorn (plural thornes)
References
- “thorn (n.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-12.
Old Saxon
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *þurnuz (“thorn, sloe”), from Proto-Indo-European *tr̥nós, from *(s)ter-. Germanic cognates include Old English þorn (English thorn), Dutch doorn, Old High German thorn (German Dorn), Old Norse þorn (Swedish törne), Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽𐌿𐍃 (þaurnus). The Indo-European root is also the source of Old Church Slavonic трънъ (trŭnŭ) (Russian тёрн (tjorn, “sloe, blackthorn”)), Sanskrit तृण (tṛṇa, “grass”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /θorn/